Operation of devices supporting multiple SIMs

ABSTRACT

Exemplary embodiments are directed to operation of a device supporting multiple SIMs. A method may include detecting a paging collision scenario between a first subscription and at least a second subscription. The method may further include modifying a page reading operation of at least one of the first subscription and the at least a second subscription to avoid a paging collision between the first subscription and the at least a second subscription. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also claimed and described in the application.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/365,008 filed on Feb. 2, 2012, and titled “OPERATION OF DEVICESSUPPORTING MULTIPLE SIMS” which application is a non-provisionalapplication claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. PatentApplication No. 61/439,260 filed on Feb. 3, 2011, and titled “OPERATIONOF DEVICES SUPPORTING MULTIPLE SIMS,” which applications are expresslyincorporated herein in their entirety by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wirelesscommunication. More specifically, the present invention relates todevices, methods, articles of manufacture, and computer-readable mediumfor supporting multiple subscriber identify modules (SIMS) with a singlereceiving device. Some embodiments can be incorporated on communicationdevices such as mobile or fixed communication equipment.

BACKGROUND

Sometimes it may not be possible for a mobile device, which includesmultiple subscriber identity modules (SIMs) and a single receiver, tosimultaneously receive paging channels for two subscriptions. If bothsubscriptions are from a single operator, the mobile device may likely“camp on” a single cell for both subscriptions. In such a case, pagingmessages of two paging channels may collide and, thus, only onesubscription may be able to receive a paging message. The end result isthat mobile terminated calls may not succeed for the other subscription,thus, leading to poor user experience. This problem can also occur wheneach subscription of a mobile device is “camped on” different cells andthe timing of the paging channel for one subscription collides with thatof another subscription.

A need exists for methods, devices, and computer-readable medium toenhance wireless communication systems. More specifically, a need existsfor methods, devices, and computer-readable medium for reducing pagingcollisions between multiple subscriptions associated with a singlereceiving device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Several embodiments of the present invention are summarized below andfurther below are further descriptive details. Features of the presentinvention address the issues discussed above thus enabling communicationdevices, methods, and systems capable of reducing paging collisionsbetween multiple subscriptions associated with a single receivingdevice.

In a communications network comprising multiple communication deviceswherein the communication devices can communicate with at least oneother communication device, an article of manufacture comprising: one ormore processors configured to detect a paging collision scenario betweena first subscription and a second subscription; and modify a pagereading operation of at least one of the first subscription and thesecond subscription to avoid a paging collision between the firstsubscription and the second subscription.

A communications method can also enable reduction of paging collisions.Such a method can generally comprise detecting a paging collisionscenario between a first subscription and a second subscription, andmodifying a page reading operation of at least one of the firstsubscription and the second subscription to avoid a paging collisionbetween the first subscription and the second subscription.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present invention may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present inventioncan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a wireless communication system.

FIG. 1B shows channel organization for a broadcast control channel(BCCH) and a common control channel (CCCH) in Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM).

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a base station and a terminal

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting common control channel configurationgroups, paging groups, and paging block indices.

FIG. 4A illustrates a system including a mobile station having a firstsubscription on a first cell and a second subscription on a second cell.

FIG. 4B illustrates a system including a mobile station having dualsubscriptions on a single cell.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting a method, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting another method, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting another method, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting another method, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting another method, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart depicting another method, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart depicting yet another method, in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY & ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention and is not intended to represent the only embodimentsin which the present invention can be practiced. The term “exemplary”used throughout this description means “serving as an example, instance,or illustration,” and should not necessarily be construed as preferredor advantageous over other exemplary embodiments. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments of the invention. Itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the exemplaryembodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the novelty of theexemplary embodiments presented herein. Also, in some instancesalgorithms for use with some embodiments as shown in flow chart form andalso discussed in corresponding text. This text can be used to implementcode (e.g., if/then/else statements) for implementing features ofembodiments of the present invention.

The term “terminal,” as used herein, may be fixed or mobile and may bereferred to as a mobile station, a user equipment (UE), a wirelesscommunication device, or some other terminology. For example only, aterminal may comprise a mobile telephone, a Smartphone, a tablet PC, adesktop or a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or anyother computing devices with such capabilities. For simplicity, thedescription provided herein primarily references terminals; however,such references should be expansively construed to refer to any wirelesstelecommunications devices with comparable functionality or otherdevices containing communication components.

As will be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art,Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) is a widely usedtechnology for wireless telecommunications. GSM devices may incorporatea Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, which stores information neededto enable a GSM Network Provider to identify a device (e.g., a phone)user (i.e., a subscriber), allocate a telephone number for the device,and bill costs associated with the device. If a SIM card is transferredfrom one GSM device to another GSM device, the identity of thesubscriber is also transferred.

For various reasons, it is becoming increasingly popular for individualsto have more than one GSM subscription. Although an increasing number ofpeople possess multiple SIMs, GSM devices typically include only one SIMcard. Therefore, a user with dual SIMs may either switch SIM cards whenusing a different GSM account for a single device, or have two GSMdevices. Each of these solutions has proven to be costly andinconvenient to a device user.

FIG. 1A shows a wireless communication system 100 including a pluralityof base stations 110 (i.e., base stations 110 a-110 c) that providecommunication for a plurality of terminals 120 (i.e., terminals 120a-120 i). A “base station” is a fixed station and may also be referredto as a base transceiver subsystem (BTS), a Node B, an access point, orsome other terminology. Terminals 120 may be dispersed throughoutcommunication system 100. A mobile switching center (MSC) 130 may beconfigured to couple to each base station 110, provide coordination andcontrol for each base station 110, and further control the routing ofdata to/from terminals 120 served by base stations 110. A mobileswitching center may also be referred to as a radio network controller(RNC) or some other terminology.

System 100 can incorporate various communication technologies. Forexample, system 100 may comprise a time-division multiple access (TDMA)system that may implement one or more TDMA standards such as GSM. System100 may also comprise a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system thatmay implement one or more CDMA standards, such as Wideband CDMA(W-CDMA), IS-2000, IS-856, IS-95, and so on. These standards are wellknown in the art.

The techniques described herein for performing early decoding of acontrol channel may be used for various wireless communication systems.Moreover, these techniques may be used for various control channels,such as the broadcast control channel and the paging channel in GSM. Forclarity, these techniques are specifically described below for thepaging channel in a GSM system.

FIG. 1B shows an exemplary channel organization for the broadcastcontrol channel (BCCH) and the common control channel (CCCH) in GSM,wherein a timeline for downlink transmission is divided intomultiframes. For the BCCH and CCCH control channels, each multiframe ispartitioned into 51 TDMA frames, which are labeled as TDMA frames 0through 50. The BCCH is sent in TDMA frames 2, 3, 4, and 5 of eachmultiframe. The CCCH may be viewed as including nine paging channels PCH1 through PCH 9, as shown in FIG. 1B. Each paging channel PCH serves arespective group of terminals. Each terminal is assigned to one of thepaging channels on every Nth occurrence of the 51-multiframe structurewhere N ranges from 2 to 9. Paging messages, if any, for each terminalare sent on the assigned paging channel.

In GSM, each TDMA frame is further partitioned into 8 time slots, whichare labeled as time slots 0 through 7. Time slot 0 is used for thecontrol channels and the other seven times slots 1 through 7 are usedfor traffic channels. A message for the BCCH is transmitted in time slot0 of TDMA frames 2, 3, 4, and 5. A message for the first paging channel,PCH 1, is transmitted in time slot 0 of TDMA frames 6, 7, 8, and 9.Messages for the other paging channels are transmitted in time slot 0 oftheir associated TDMA frames, as shown in FIG. 1B. The transmission ineach time slot is referred to as a “burst” in GSM.

Other control channel organizations may also be used to carry the BCCHand CCCH. Channel organizations for the BCCH and CCCH are described indetail in 3GPP TS 05.01, which is publicly available.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a base station 110 x and a terminal 120x. Base station 110 x may comprise one of the base stations illustratedin FIG. 1A, and terminal 120 x may comprise one of the terminals in FIG.1A. On the downlink, at base station 110 x, a TX data processor 210 mayreceive traffic data for traffic channels and control data for controlchannels. TX data processor 210 may format, code, and interleave thedata for each traffic/control channel based on the coding andinterleaving schemes specified for that channel and provide output datafor the traffic/control channel. A modulator (MOD) 212 may then receiveand process the output data for all traffic and control channels, asspecified by GSM, and provide modulated data. A transmitter unit (TMTR)214 may process the modulated data to generate a downlink signal, whichis then transmitted via an antenna 216 to the terminals (e.g., terminal120 x).

At terminal 120 x, a downlink signal transmitted by base station 110 xmay be received by an antenna 252 and provided to a receiver unit (RCVR)254. Terminal 120 x may receive and process multiple downlink signalsfrom multiple base stations. For simplicity, the processing for only onedownlink signal from base station 110 x is described below. Receiverunit 254 may condition and digitize the received signal from antenna 252and provide a stream of data samples. A demodulator (DEMOD) 256 may thenprocess the data samples and provide demodulated data. An RX dataprocessor 260 may deinterleave and decode the demodulated data torecover the traffic and control data transmitted by base station 110 x.The processing by demodulator 256 and RX data processor 260 iscomplementary to that performed by modulator 212 and TX data processor210, respectively, at base station 110 x.

Controllers 220 and 270 may be configured to direct the operation atbase station 110 x and terminal 120 x, respectively. Memory units 222and 272 provide storage for program codes and data used by controllers220 and 270, respectively. For simplicity, FIG. 2 only shows theprocessing units for downlink transmission and does not show all of theprocessing units normally present at base station 110 x and terminal 120x.

As will be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, aGSM device may include a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card, whichstores information needed for a GSM Network Provider to establish anidentity of device user.

The description herein is related to enhancing paging channel receptionfor a GSM mobile device (i.e., mobile station) having more than one SIMand only a single receiver. The exemplary embodiments described hereinprovide solutions to paging collision scenarios for variousconfigurations of GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) modes ofoperation. It is noted that the exemplary embodiments described hereinassume that a mobile device includes a single receiver capable ofmonitoring only one GSM frequency at any one time.

Broadcast parameters, as well as a subscription identity (IMSI), maydefine which specific radio blocks a mobile device should monitor forpaging reception while operating in a “Normal Page” mode. One parameter,which is referred to as a Common Control Channel configuration“CCCH−CONF,” may define whether a network is using a combined(CCCH+SDCCH) configuration or a non-combined configuration. In the caseof a non-combined configuration, this parameter may also define thenumber of common control on a BCCH frequency. A first common controlchannel may be on a timeslot 0, a second common control channel may beon a timeslot 2, a third common control channel may be on a timeslot 4,and a fourth common control channel may be on a timeslot 6. At aminimum, one common control channel exists.

Another parameter, referred to as “BS-AG-BLKS-RES,” may define a numberof downlink radio blocks reserved exclusively for an Access GrantChannel (AGCH). BS-AG-BLKS-RES may range from 0-7 in a case ofnon-combined CCCH and 0-3 in a case of combined CCCH. Yet, anotherparameter, which is referred to as “BS-PA-MFRMS,” may define arepetition rate of the paging blocks for a mobile device. “BS-PA-MFRMS”may have a range of 2-9 51-multiframes.

Furthermore, additional parameters, as noted below, together with thesubscription identity (IMSI), may be used by a mobile station to computethe exact radio blocks necessary to monitor for a subscription. Theseadditional parameters include a common control channel configurationgroup “CCCH_GROUP,” a paging group “PAGING_GROUP,” and a paging blockindex “PAGING_BLOCK.” “CCCH_GROUP” may define which common controlchannel is used to monitor for paging, AGCH, and for sending RACHs.“CCCH_GROUP” may be within the range of 0-3. “PAGING_GROUP” may definewhich 51-multiframe to monitor for paging purposes and “PAGING_BLOCK”may define which radio block in a 51-multiframe to monitor for pagingpurposes.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting common control channel configurationgroups “CCCH_GROUP” G0-G3, paging groups “PAGING_GROUP” PG0-PG4, andpaging block indices “PAGING_BLOCK” PB for a single paging sub-channelPSC. As will be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in theart, each PAGING_BLOCK PB may comprises 1 to 4 mobile pages. FIG. 4Aillustrates a mobile station 402 having a first subscription Sub 1 on aCell A and a second subscription Sub 2 on a Cell B. FIG. 4B illustratesmobile station 402 having both first subscription Sub 1 and secondsubscription Sub 2 on a single Cell C.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 490, in accordance with oneor more exemplary embodiments. Method 490 may include detecting a pagingcollision scenario between a first subscription and at least a secondsubscription (depicted by numeral 492). Method 490 may further includemodifying a page reading operation of at least one of the firstsubscription and the at least a second subscription to avoid a pagingcollision between the first subscription and the at least a secondsubscription (depicted by numeral 494).

Various paging collision scenarios, as well as contemplated solutions tothe collision scenarios, will now be described with reference to FIGS.3-10. In one scenario, two subscriptions (e.g., subscriptions Sub 1 andSub 2) are assigned to different networks. More specifically, as anexample, subscription Sub 1 is served by a first network andsubscription Sub 2 is served by second, different network. It is notedthat this scenario may be possible if each subscription is served by adifferent network (i.e., different physical network provider). In thisscenario, in the event of collisions, alternating subscription pageblocks may be read. More specifically, a PAGING_BLOCK PB forsubscription Sub 1 may be read during a one paging period of a pagingsub-channel and a PAGING_BLOCK PB for subscription Sub 2 may be readduring a subsequent paging period of a paging sub-channel.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500, in accordance with oneor more exemplary embodiments. Method 500 may include reading aPAGING_BLOCK for a first subscription during one paging sub-channel(depicted by numeral 502). Method 500 may further include reading aPAGING_BLOCK for a second subscription during a subsequent pagingsub-channel (depicted by numeral 504).

In another scenario, two subscriptions may be assigned to the samenetwork but are associated with different cells belonging to a singlelocation area. More specifically, as an example, subscription Sub 1 maybe assigned to Cell A and subscription Sub 2 may be assigned to Cell B,wherein subscription Sub 1 and subscription Sub 2 are assigned to acommon network and Cell A and Cell B are located within a singlelocation area. It is noted that this scenario may occur if onesubscription is unable to “camp on” the same cell as the othersubscription. Further, in this scenario, the two cells are configured ina manner such that a receiver of mobile station 402 is unable to monitorboth paging blocks. One contemplated solution to this scenario includesreading alternating subscription page blocks in the event of collisions.More specifically, a PAGING_BLOCK PB for subscription Sub 1 may be readduring a one paging sub-channel (e.g., paging sub-channel PSC) and aPAGING BLOCK PB for subscription Sub 2 may be read during a subsequentpaging sub-channel.

Further, because a network may not know which cell a mobile device islinked to at any one time, for mobile terminated operations, a voicecall network may page a mobile device in an entire location area. Forexample, with specific reference to FIG. 4A, it is assumed thatsubscription Sub 1 is “camped on” Cell A and subscription Sub 2 is“camped on” Cell B. Moreover, Cell A and Cell B belong to the samenetwork and are in the same location area. Another contemplated solutionincludes computing the common control channel (CCCH) group “CCCH_GROUP”(i.e., one of groups G0-G3) and paging group “PAGING GROUP” (i.e., oneof PG0-PG4) for each of subscription A and subscription B usingparameters from Cell A, as will be appreciated by a person havingordinary skill in the art. If the CCCH_GROUP and the PAGING_GROUP is thesame for each cell, then mobile device 402 may share paging informationfrom Cell A. Similarly, the CCCH_GROUP and PAGING_GROUP for each ofsubscription Sub 1 and subscription Sub 2 using parameters from Cell Bmay be computed. If the CCCH_GROUP and the PAGING_GROUP is the same foreach cell, then mobile device 402 may share paging information from CellB.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method 510, in accordance with oneor more exemplary embodiments. Method 510 may include determining aCCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP for each of a first subscription and asecond subscription according to one or more parameters of a first cell(depicted by numeral 512). Method 500 may further include sharing paginginformation from the first cell to a second, different cell if adetermined CCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP for the first subscription arerespectively the same as a determined CCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP forthe second subscription (depicted by numeral 514).

Another scenario includes two subscriptions assigned to the same networkbut different cells belonging to two different location areas. Morespecifically, as an example, subscription Sub 1 may be assigned to CellA and subscription Sub 2 may be assigned to Cell B, wherein Cell A is ina different location area than Cell B. This scenario may result from onesubscription being unable to “camp on” the same cell as the othersubscription. A contemplated solution to collisions involved in thisscenario may include reading alternating subscription page blocks. Morespecifically, a PAGING_BLOCK PB for subscription Sub 1 may be readduring a one paging sub-channel (e.g., paging sub-channel PSC) and aPAGING_BLOCK PB for subscription Sub 2 may be read during a subsequentpaging sub-channel.

In another scenario, subscriptions (e.g., subscription Sub 1 andsubscription Sub 2) may be “camped on” the same cell (e.g., Cell C; seeFIG. 4B) but have different common control channel (CCCH) groups“CCCH_GROUP” (G0-G3). This scenario may be possible due to differentIMSIs. It is further noted that design limitations may not allow forpaging reception of more than one timeslot within a single radio blockand, therefore, persistent collisions may occur. A contemplated solutionto collisions involved in this scenario may include alternatingsubscription page block reading. More specifically, a PAGING_BLOCK PBfor subscription Sub 1 may be read during a one paging sub-channel(e.g., paging sub-channel PSC) and a PAGING_BLOCK PB for subscriptionSub 2 may be read during a subsequent paging sub-channel. It is notedthat in this scenario, and associated solution, paging group and pagingblock index may be irrelevant.

Another scenario may include subscriptions (e.g., subscription Sub 1 andsubscription Sub 2) “camped on” the same cell (e.g., Cell C) and withinthe same CCCH_GROUP (G0-G3) and the same PAGING_GROUP (PG0-PG4). Thisscenario may be possible due to different IMSIs. It is noted that bothsubscriptions (e.g., subscription Sub 1 and subscription Sub 2) may bemonitoring the same paging block. A contemplated solution may entailsharing paging received for one subscription with the othersubscription. Stated another way, for example, information received withsubscription Sub 1 may be shared with subscription Sub 2. Even servingcell and neighbor cell power measurements and system information may beshared from one subscription to another subscription. Sharing allinformation may prevent reselection by one subscription only.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 520, in accordance with oneor more exemplary embodiments. Method 520 may include determining aCCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP for each of a first subscription and asecond subscription associated with a single cell (depicted by numeral522). Method 520 may further include sharing paging information fromeither the first subscription or the second subscription to the othersubscription if the determined CCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP for thefirst subscription are respectively the same as the determinedCCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP for the second subscription (depicted bynumeral 524).

Yet another scenario may include subscriptions (e.g., subscription Sub 1and subscription Sub 2) “camped on” the same cell (e.g., Cell C) andwithin the same CCCH_GROUP (G0-G3) but within different PAGING_GROUPS(PG0-PG4). This scenario may be possible due to different IMSIs. Inconventional system designs, paging collision may occur when page blocksfor two subscriptions are adjacent each other (i.e., paging indexdifferent by 1). This is due to the fact that two paging channels arehandled independently by layer L1 and switching between the two channelsmay require more than one TDMA, hence, it may not be possible to monitorthe radio block immediately after the paging block.

One contemplated solution to collisions involved in this scenario mayinclude alternating subscription page block reading. More specifically,a PAGING_BLOCK PB for subscription Sub 1 may be read during a one pagingsub-channel (e.g., paging sub-channel PSC) and a PAGING_BLOCK PB forsubscription Sub 2 may be read during a subsequent paging sub-channel.Another contemplated solution may include reading two consecutive pages,which may require a design modification. It is noted that if at leastone radio block gap exists between two page blocks, it may be possibleto receive both paging blocks.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method 530, in accordance with oneor more exemplary embodiments. Method 530 may include determining aCCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP for each of a first subscription and asecond subscription associated with a single cell (depicted by numeral532). Method 530 may further include reading consecutive pages withinthe determined CCCH_GROUP if the determined CCCH_GROUP for the firstsubscription is the same as the determined CCCH_GROUP for the secondsubscription and the determined PAGING_GROUP for the first subscriptionis not the same as the determined PAGING_GROUP for the secondsubscription (depicted by numeral 534).

With specific reference to FIG. 4A, an example operation of mobiledevice 402 with dual subscription camped on two different cells (i.e.,Cell A and Cell B) will now be described. In this example, subscriptionSub 1 is camped on Cell A and subscription Sub 3 is camped on Cell B.Mobile device 402 may compute the CCCH_GROUP (G0-G3) and PAGING_GROUP(PG0-PG4) for subscription A and subscription B for each of Cell A andCell B, as will be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in theart.

A first parameter CCCH_GROUP _1A is a CCCH_GROUP for subscription Sub 1using broadcast parameters from Cell A and a second parameterPAGING_GROUP_(—) 1A is a PAGING_GROUP for subscription Sub 1 usingbroadcast parameters from Cell A. A third parameter CCCH_GROUP_1B is aCCCH_GROUP for subscription Sub 1 using broadcast parameters from Cell Band a fourth parameter PAGING_GROUP_1B is a PAGING_GROUP forsubscription Sub 1 using broadcast parameters from Cell B. A fifthparameter CCCH_GROUP_2A is a CCCH_GROUP for subscription Sub 2 usingbroadcast parameters from Cell A and a sixth parameter PAGING_(—)GROUP_2A is a PAGING_GROUP for subscription Sub 2 using broadcastparameters from Cell A. Further, a seventh parameter CCCH_GROUP_2B is aCCCH_GROUP for subscription Sub 2 using broadcast parameters from Cell Band an eighth parameter PAGING_GROUP_2B is a PAGING_GROUP forsubscription Sub 2 using broadcast parameters from Cell B.

If first parameter CCCH_GROUP_1A is equal to fifth parameterCCCH_GROUP_2A and second parameter PAGING_GROUP_1A is equal to sixthparameter PAGING_GROUP_2A, or if third parameter CCCH_GROUP_1B is equalto seventh parameter CCCH_GROUP_2B and fourth parameter PAGING_GROUP_1Bis equal to eighth parameter PAGING_GROUP_2B, then mobile device 402 mayshare paging messages from one cell with both subscriptions Sub 1 andSub 2.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method 540, in accordance with oneor more exemplary embodiments. Method 540 may include determining aCCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP for each of a first subscription and asecond subscription associated with a single cell (depicted by numeral542). Method 540 may further include reading interleaved pages fromdetermined CCCH_GROUPs if the determined CCCH_GROUP for the firstsubscription is different from the determined CCCH_GROUP for the secondsubscription and a determined PAGING_GROUP for the first subscription isthe same as a determined PAGING_GROUP for the second subscription(depicted by numeral 544).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating yet another method 550, inaccordance with one or more exemplary embodiments. Method 550 mayinclude determining a CCCH_GROUP, a PAGING_GROUP, and a PAGING_BLOCK foreach of a first subscription and a second subscription (depicted bynumeral 552). Method 550 may further include registering the firstsubscription and the second subscription (depicted by numeral 554).Further, method 550 may include determining whether the firstsubscription and the second subscription are on separate cells or asingle cell (depicted by numeral 556). If the first subscription and thesecond subscription are not on separate cells, proceed to step 558. Ifthe first subscription and the second subscription are on the same cell,proceed to step 560.

From step 558, method 550 includes determining whether the firstsubscription and the second subscription have the same CCCH_GROUP(depicted by numeral 558). If so, method 550 proceeds to step 562. Ifthe first subscription and the second subscription have a differentCCCH_GROUP, method 550 proceeds to step 559. From step 562, method 550includes determining whether the first subscription and the secondsubscription have the same PAGING_GROUP (depicted by numeral 562). Ifso, method 550 proceeds to step 566. If the first subscription and thesecond subscription have a different PAGING_GROUP, method 550 proceedsto step 568.

Reverting back to step 559, method 550 includes determining whether thefirst subscription and the second subscription have the samePAGING_GROUP (depicted by numeral 559). If so, method 550 proceeds tostep 576. If the first subscription and the second subscription have adifferent PAGING_GROUP, method 550 proceeds to step 568.

Reverting back to step 560, method 550 may include determining whetherthe first subscription and the second subscription are assigned todifferent networks (depicted by numeral 560). If so, method 550 proceedsto step 564. If the first subscription and the second subscription arenot assigned to different networks, method 550 proceeds to step 570where it is determined whether the two different cells are within acommon location area (depicted by numeral 570). If so, method 550proceeds to step 572 where it is determined whether a CCCH_GROUP and aPAGING_GROUP for the first subscription are respectively the same as adetermined CCCH_GROUP and a PAGING_GROUP for the second subscription. Ifso, method 550 proceeds to step 574. If not, method 550 proceeds to step564. If not, method 550 proceeds to step 564. Reverting back to step570, if the two different cells are not within a common location area,method 550 proceeds to step 564.

Although various exemplary embodiments presented herein are describedwith reference to page handling techniques in GSM+GSM Dual SIM capabledevices, the exemplary embodiments are also applicable for WCDMA+WCDMA,and CDMA2000+CDMA200 capable multi SIM devices as well.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the exemplary embodiments of the invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DigitalSignal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereofIf implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed bya computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

The previous description of the disclosed exemplary embodiments isprovided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use thepresent invention. Various modifications to these exemplary embodimentswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the exemplary embodimentsshown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with theprinciples and novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: determining whether a firstsubscription and a second subscription are on separate cells;determining whether the separate cells are within a common location;detecting a paging collision scenario between the first subscription andthe second subscription; and modifying a page reading operation of atleast one of the first subscription or the second subscription to avoida paging collision between the first subscription and the secondsubscription, the modifying comprising: reading alternative subscriptionpage blocks from a determined common control channel configuration groupif the determined common control channel configuration group for thefirst subscription is the same as the determined common control channelconfiguration group for the second subscription and a determined paginggroup for the first subscription is not the same as a determined paginggroup for the second subscription, and the separate cells are within thecommon location; and sharing paging information from the firstsubscription or the second subscription if the determined common controlchannel configuration group for the first subscription is the same asthe determined common control channel configuration group for the secondsubscription and the determined paging group for the first subscriptionis the same as the determined paging group for the second subscription,and the separate cells are within the common location.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: determining that the common control channelconfiguration group for the first subscription is the same as thedetermined common control channel configuration group for the secondsubscription: and determining that the paging group for the firstsubscription is not the same as the determined paging group for thesecond subscription.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting apaging collision comprises detecting a paging collision between thefirst subscription and the second subscription associated with thesingle cell.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a pagingcollision comprises detecting a paging collision between the firstsubscription and the second subscription having different subscriptionidentities.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a pagingcollision comprises detecting a paging collision between the firstsubscription and the second subscription having adjacent page blocks. 6.A device, comprising: means for determining whether a first subscriptionand a second subscription are on separate cells; means for determiningwhether the separate cells are within a common location; means fordetecting a potential paging collision between the first subscriptionand the second subscription; and means for modifying a page readingoperation of at least one of the first subscription or the secondsubscription to avoid a paging collision between the first subscriptionand the second subscription, the means for modifying comprising: meansfor reading alternative subscription page blocks from a determinedcommon control channel configuration group if the determined commoncontrol channel configuration group for the first subscription is thesame as the determined common control channel configuration group forthe second subscription and a determined paging group for the firstsubscription is not the same as a determined paging group for the secondsubscription, and the separate cells are within the common location; andmeans for sharing paging information from the first subscription or thesecond subscription if the determined common control channelconfiguration group for the first subscription is the same as thedetermined common control channel configuration group for the secondsubscription and the determined paging group for the first subscriptionis the same as the determined paging group for the second subscription,and the separate cells are within the common location.
 7. The device ofclaim 6, further comprising: means for determining that the commoncontrol channel configuration group for the first subscription is thesame as the determined common control channel configuration group forthe second subscription: and means for determining that the paging groupfor the first subscription is not the same as the determined paginggroup for the second subscription.
 8. The device of claim 6, wherein themeans for detecting comprises means for detecting a paging collisionbetween the first subscription and the second subscription associatedwith the single cell.
 9. The device of claim 6, wherein the means fordetecting comprises means for detecting the potential paging collisionbetween the first subscription and the second subscription havingdifferent subscription identities.
 10. The device of claim 6, whereinthe means for detecting comprises means for detecting the potentialpaging collision between the first subscription and the secondsubscription having adjacent page blocks.
 11. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions,which when executed on a computer, perform the acts comprising:determining whether a first subscription and a second subscription areon separate cells; determining whether the separate cells are within acommon location; detecting a potential paging collision between thefirst subscription and the second subscription; and modifying a pagereading operation of at least one of the first subscription or thesecond subscription to avoid a paging collision between the firstsubscription and the second subscription, the modifying comprising:reading alternative subscription page blocks from a determined commoncontrol channel configuration group if the determined common controlchannel configuration group for the first subscription is the same asthe determined common control channel configuration group for the secondsubscription and a determined paging group for the first subscription isnot the same as a determined paging group for the second subscription,and the separate cells are within the common location; and sharingpaging information from the first subscription or the secondsubscription if the determined common control channel configurationgroup for the first subscription is the same as the determined commoncontrol channel configuration group for the second subscription and thedetermined paging group for the first subscription is the same as thedetermined paging group for the second subscription, and the separatecells are within the common location.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions furtherperform the acts comprising: determining that the common control channelconfiguration group for the first subscription is the same as thedetermined common control channel configuration group for the secondsubscription: and determining that the paging group for the firstsubscription is not the same as the determined paging group for thesecond subscription.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 11, wherein detecting comprises detecting a paging collisionbetween the first subscription and the second subscription associatedwith the single cell.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 11, wherein detecting comprises detecting the potential pagingcollision between the first subscription and the second subscriptionhaving adjacent page blocks.
 15. A method, comprising: determiningwhether a first subscription and a second subscription are on separatecells; determining whether the separate cells are within a commonlocation; determining a common control channel configuration group and apaging group for each of the first subscription and the secondsubscription associated with the single cell; reading alternativesubscription page blocks from a determined common control channelconfiguration group if the determined common control channelconfiguration group for the first subscription is the same as thedetermined common control channel configuration group for the secondsubscription and a determined paging group for the first subscription isnot the same as a determined paging group for the second subscription,and the separate cells are within the common location; and sharingpaging information from the first subscription or the secondsubscription if the determined common control channel configurationgroup for the first subscription is the same as the determined commoncontrol channel configuration group for the second subscription and thedetermined paging group for the first subscription is the same as thedetermined paging group for the second subscription, and the separatecells are within the common location.
 16. The method of claim 15,further comprising detecting a potential paging collision between thefirst subscription and the second subscription.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein detecting a potential paging collision comprises detectingthe potential paging collision between the first subscription and thesecond subscription having adjacent page blocks.
 18. The method of claim15, the determining comprising determining a common control channelconfiguration group and a paging group for a first subscription having asubscription identity different than a subscription identity of thesecond subscription.